By Jonathan Burrows

MOSES Johnson, general manager of the National Sports Authority, officially announced the men’s national team roster for the upcoming 2025 FIBA AmeriCup, set to be held in Managua, Nicaragua, August 12-31. 

The announcement came during a formal press conference held yesterday at the Baha Mar Convention Center. 

In attendance at the press conference were national team veteran Jaraun “Kino” Burrows, acting director of sports in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Kelsie Johnson-Sills, and general manager of the National Sports Authority, Moses Johnson.

The final 12-man roster features a blend of experience and youth. 

This year’s team includes Kai Jones, Jaraun “Kino” Burrows, Franco Miller Jr, Dominick Bridgewater, Garvin Clarke, Rashad Davis, Kentwan Smith, Joshua Dames, Sammy Hunter, Tavario Miller and Nathaniel Bastian. 

The team will be led by the newly appointed head coach, Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr, a former national team standout point guard known for his leadership and basketball IQ. 

Nairn was a central figure during The Bahamas’ remarkable performance in the 2024 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, including the team’s pivotal win over Cuba. Despite falling just nine points short of Olympic qualification, that campaign reinvigorated national interest and laid the foundation for this new chapter under Nairn’s guidance.

“We are looking forward to an exciting time… this is always an exciting time for basketball as it relates to senior men, as we’ve been making strides year after year, being nine points away from the Olympics… so we don’t want to be saying we were nine points away, we want to be marching into L.A. 2028, so this is just one step further towards our goals,” said Johnson.

Team member Jaraun Burrows also spoke on the opportunity to play for the national team once again. 

“I’m really excited about this opportunity…we want to continue to build, of course, on the disappointment from last year, which still really hurt about being so close to our Olympic basketball dreams, but the time is now to move forward and progress towards Los Angeles 2028… we know now that Bahamas basketball is considered as one of the up and coming powers of the world and so we need to take this time and use thus opportunity to push our selves forward… for me its exciting with a young hungry team of bahamains and Im glad that the federation asked me to still be apart of it although Im nit jumping and runniung like I use to they see the value in my veteran experience… for me its about finishing the job,” said Burrows. 

The Bahamas will face tough competition at the 2025 Americup, with teams from across the world vying for international qualification. Still, with a focused roster and leadership, Team Bahamas heads to Nicaragua with high hopes and a sense of finishing what they had just begun.